Sterilizing toothbrush receptacle



Jan. 14, 1936. M. T. HANKE STERILIZING TOOTHBRUSH RECEPTACLE Filed Oct. 26, 1934 Patented Jan. 14, 1936 i 2,027,428

UNETED STATES PATENT OFFI'CE STEBILIZING TOOTHBRUSH RECEPTACLE Milton '1. Hanke, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Margaret 0. Blume, Chicago, 111.

Application October 26, 1934, Serial No. 750, '72

6 Claims. (01. 20615.1)

This invention relates to a sterilizing container type of tooth brush holder according to this inwhich also permits the drying of moist articles vention.

placed therein. Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken sub- More specifically this invention relates to a stantially along the line II-II of Figure 1. tooth brush receptacle which sterilizes the brush Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sec- 5 and permits the evaporation of moisture from the tional view taken substantially along the line brush. III-III of Figure 1.

Tooth brush holders have heretofore been Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary wall poreither formed of non-pervious materials or have tion of a container, according to this invention,

been provided with foraminous portions to permit showing an alternative manner for disposing a drying of the brush. Containers have also been antiseptic material within the container. provided with removable caps having compart- As shown on the drawing: ments for disinfectants disposed therein to steri- In Figure 1, the reference numeral I!) indicates lize the container and brush. However, the use of generally a tubular container of a ceramic mal'r; impervious materials for tooth brush containers terial such as unglazed porcelain, clay or other ls not satisfactory because the tooth brush canporous material, provided with a bottom II and not dry when placed in such a container and soon an open top adapted to receive a cover or closure becomes soggy and ineffective. The provision of me b The tube y be formed- With e foraminous portions in the container to permit a or more flat faces l3 extending longitudinally drying of the brush is also unsatisfactory bethereof and with a peripheral groove I4. 20'- cause dirt and germs from the surrounding at- The surface of the container l0 may be partly mosphere can readily pass into the container. coated with a non-porous material such as a I have now provided a sterilizing container for lacquer or a glazing material l5. The coating 55, tooth brushes which alsopermits the evaporahowever, is omitted from the fiat portions i3 tion of moisture from the brush without permitand the Walls Of the groove !4 S t o tu 25 ting ingress of dirt or germs. According to this may pa f ly through these w p i n of invention, the tooth brush container is formed of the Containera porous material such as unglazed porcelain or AS shown in Figure 2, the container I0 is alundum. The interior of the walls of the con- Sllfiieiehtly long to receive the entire length f a tainer are impregnated with an antiseptic mateteeth bTU-Sh The brush is inserted in the 3 rial for creating a sterilizing zone around the container with the bristles I? at the bottom tooth brush. t

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to The cap l2 may be threaded into the open top provide a sterilizing receptacle which permits the of the container as indicated at Hi. It should be drying of materials inserted therein. understood, however, that any type of closure A further object of this invention is to provide member such as a friction cap may be used in a moisture permeable receptacle for tooth brushes place of the threaded cap 12.

and the like which does not allow the ingress of The groove M is positioned slightly above the dirt from t Outside phere. level of the bristles I! when the brush 6 rests A fur h r object f h s inv n ion i o pr vide against the bottom ll of the container. Moisatooth brush receptacle which sterilizes the brush tur from the bristles IT can thus readily pass and permits the same to dry therein while sealthrough the porous walls of the container Illv ing the brush from contact with the outside It should be understood, however, that the nonatmosphere. porous coating l5 may be dispensed with so that 45 A specific obJect of th1s invention is to provide the entire outside surface of the container will a porous tooth b us eceptacle capable of creatbe effective in the transfer of moisture to the ing a sterilizing atmosphere around the tooth atmosphere. However, it is preferred to use the brush. coating I5 and toprovide limited areas of un- Other and further objects of this invention will glazed portions such as I 3 and M to present a 50 be apparent from the following description and more attractive outside surface for the containannexed sheet of drawings which form a part of er. The groove M and the fiat surface l3 prethis disclosure. sent sufiicient area to permit the evaporation of On the drawing: water from a tooth brush within eight hours Figure 1 is an elevational view of a preferred time. Since a tooth brush is seldom used in in- 55 tervals of less than eight hours. the container always delivers a dried brush.

As shown in Figure 3, the walls of the porcelain container are impregnated with an antiseptic material l9. Liquid or solid antiseptics may be used provided they have a vapor pressure sufliciently low to prevent too rapid dissipation from the walls of the container. Impregnation of the container walls with solid antiseptics may be accomplished by dissolving the antiseptic in a volatile solvent and impregnating the walls with the solution. The solvent then evaporates and leaves the solid antiseptic distributed in the porous walls. Likewise, the antiseptic may be melted and poured into the walls of the container and allowed to solidify and remain in the walls. Also other types of antiseptic may be sublimed and the sublimation vapors caused to impregnate the walls of the tube.

Antiseptics such as menthol, chloretone, thymol, chlor thymol, para formaldehyde, dichloramine and ammonium bicarbonate have been used for impregnating the walls of the tooth brush container. Para formaldehyde and ammonium bicarbonate gives a complete sterilization of the brush. Para formaldehyde is effective because it evolves formaldehyde vapor. Since para formaldehyde is a solid, it retains its effectiveness for great lengths of time.

In Figure 4, I have shown an alternative method for providing an antiseptic material on the inside of the container l0. As shown in Fig ure 4, the walls of the container H are coated on the inside with a paste or coating 26. The coating 20 is porous in nature and moisture readily penetrates therethrough to the porous container walls. Thus the antiseptic may be coated onto the inside walls of the container or impregnated into these walls.

From the above description, it is evident that I have provided a tooth brush container which permits a thorough drying of the tooth brush within eight hours. Since the brush is seldom used at more than eight hour intervals, the container delivers a dry brush to the user. At the same time the brush is completely sterilized by the antiseptic materials which are provided in the container. The life of the brush is greatly prolonged because it is allowed to dry after each use and the user is protected from infection because the dried brush is thoroughly sterilized.

It should be understood that while this invention has been described with particular reference to a tooth brush container that it is, nevertheless, useful for other purposes wherein it is desired to dry and sterilize a wet or moist article.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent 5 granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sterilizing receptacle for articles to be dried and sterilized comprising a container hav- 1o ing porous walls of unglazed ceramic material permitting the passage of moisture therethrough and an antiseptic material in communication with the interior of said container.

2. A tooth brush receptacle comprising an elongated self-sustaining container adapted to receive the entire length of a tooth brush, means for closing said container, said container having integral moisture permeable walls of unglazed ceramic material and antiseptic material impregnated into said walls for creating a sterilizing atmosphere around the tooth brush.

3. A tooth brush receptacle comprising a tubular container having a bottom wall and a top enclosure member, this container being formed of porous unglazed porcelain, a relatively nonporous coating on part of the outside surface of said tube, said coating defining an uncoatcd portion to allow passage of moisture from the inside of the container to the outside atmosphere and an antiseptic material coated on the inside walls of said container.

4.1-1 tooth brush receptacle comprising an elongated self-sustaining container adapted to receive the entire length of a tooth brush and means for closing said container, the walls of said container being formed of porous ceramic material permitting the passage of moisture therethrough, and having an antiseptic material distributed therein.

5. A tooth brush receptacle comprising a selfsustaining container having integral porous walls of unglazed porcelain impregnated with para formaldehyde.

6. A tooth brush container comprising an elongated tubular member adapted to receive the entire length of a tooth brush, said member having porous walls with an annular groove around the periphery thereof and a flattened portion extending longitudinally thereof, there being a coating of relatively non-porous material covering the outside surface of said walls except at the groove and flattened portion thereof, the inside walls of said member being impregnated with para formaldehyde.

MILTON THEO. HANKE. 

